Body in the Grave
by achildofthestars
Summary: A body is found while a new grave is trying to be dug up. In other news, Zack's been acting a little strange, and people are noticing, but no one knows why.
1. Jello v Pudding

"You're losing your edge."

"No I'm not."

"Dude, you just ran your hand through your old man hair."

"That signifies nothing except thinking."

"Yeah, well, the Zack I know doesn't have to think that hard."

"Well, the Zack you think I no longer _am_ is telling you you're wrong."

"Boys, what are we fighting about this time?"

"Hodgins thinks I'm, and I'm quoting, losing my edge. Which I'm not."

"Ange, he had to think about what 125 divided by 16 times 4 was. He's sliding downhill."

"Of course I had to think. If you had to do it we'd still be waiting for you to write it down."

"Whoa Zack! Way to burn me."

"Lighten up, Zack," Angela replied with a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm not worried, Angela. I don't need to lighten up because I am not down to begin with."

Angela sighed as he walked away to Brennan's office. She folded her arms across her chest and raised her eyebrows at Hodgins.

"What?"

"Would you go easy on him?"

"I was just telling him the truth. Face it. You know he's been a little off for the past few days."

"That doesn't mean anything, Jack. And even if it is true, making fun of him is not the way to help a guy like Zack."

"I didn't…mean it like that."

"Yeah, well, we never do," she said with the hint of a sad smile as she turned away.

* * *

"Dr. Brennan?" 

"Yes, Zack?"

"I was wondering if you were busy?"

"Um," she looked down at the paperwork on her desk. "Actually, Cam wants me to finish up the papers for the two Incan mummies from a month ago."

Even though people called her dense and out of touch, she could tell from the expression on Zack's face that something was holding onto him.

"But I can use the break. Come in."

Though he'd been in Brennan's office many times, he found himself feeling oddly uncomfortable and out of place. He stood in front of her desk, his hands deep into the pockets of the blue lab coat. A few seconds ticked by on one of her clocks and he silently told himself to just explain everything to her. Maybe then, he wouldn't be about ready to explode every time someone asked him a question.

"I was wondering-."

"Bones, hey, I need you. Hey Zack."

Booth breezed in, not noticing Zack's apparent uneasiness because his mind was focused solely on the white bag containing precious doughnuts.

"Booth, Zack and I are-."

"No, Dr. Brennan. It can wait. It's nothing important. See you later, Booth."

Booth nodded his head absently before offering Brennan a glazed doughnut without a napkin.

She sighed, completely taken off guard by Zack's unusual behavior, but she placed it far back into the corner of her mind. As he'd said, it wasn't important and he didn't seem too bothered by it.

"No napkin?"

"Oh come on, where's the fun in that? The whole point is to get your fingers iced up and sweet so that once your doughnut's gone, you still have your fingers to eat."

With a shake of her head, she grabbed the doughnut, smiling as he grinned at her.

"What do you need?"

"Partial skeleton," he chewed strongly, "was dug up in Castor Cemetery."

"And?"

"And it was found while a group of guys were digging up a grave for someone else."

* * *

"Did Zack seem strange to you?" 

Booth held his laugh as he got out of the car.

"Bones, Zack _is_ strange."

"No, I mean, did he seem particularly nervous?"

"The kid's a wreck, Bones. He's too smart for his own good and has no social life beyond the guarded walls of the Jeffersonian. My guess is he's not anxious, more like, bored."

"For one, you don't know anything about his social life, and what's wrong with work being an important part of day to day living?"

"You see, Bones. This is where I come in handy. You squints…squint and stay in the labs while the outside world watches movies and plays strip poker. You need an outsider to remind you of what's beyond the 100 foot walls."

"So you play strip poker?"

"Well," he flashed her a grin, "I'm not a gambling man anymore, so no."

"Well, you said he was bored?"

"Yeah, why not?" he asked as they walked along the cemented pathway to the marked off plot.

"It's just…I never pictured Zack as being bored."

"Well, all I'm saying is maybe he's finally itching to do something…I don't know, normal."

"Normal like what? Watching movies and playing strip poker while drinking beer that's been sitting in the sun too long?"

"Bones," he paused with a raised eyebrow, "can we talk about the case? After that, I promise to psychoanalyze Zack for you."

"I don't want him analyzed. It's just...you're a male."

"I like to think so."

Brennan smiled as she slapped on her gloves.

"I meant that, as males, you have more common."

"And that's where it pretty much ends. Bones, me and Zack are like…jell-o and pudding. Made by the same company, but different in texture, color, taste, production, everything."

Brennan frowned, her mouth opening and then shutting softly.

"I know you're trying to make an allusion, but I'm failing to make the connection."

"Of course you are. Listen, I'll explain later, okay? Now can we get back to the dead skeleton lying in the dirt with no reason?"

* * *

A/N: So, boy in the refuge is temporarily done for now...considering my mind won't cooperate with the story, but while drifting off to sleep, bam-o, this thing hit me and i quickly scratched it up. lol. And no, he wasn't going to ask her out, but i don't quite know what he has hidden. so, if you guys have any ideas, you can let me know and maybe i'll be able to continue. Cheers. 


	2. Fat Heads

"Hey man, I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For saying you're losing your edge."

Zack shot him a glance before peering again at the broken rib in his hand.

"Why are you apologizing? You never apologize."

"Well," Hodgins shrugged his shoulders, "apparently it was a little too harsh."

"Angela told you to apoligize, didn't she?"

This time, Zack smiled.

"Hey, she so didn't. I'm a man's man. She does not tell me what to do."

"Whatever. I trust your statement."

"What? Zack, I'm serious."

"Hodgins, I'm trying to work here. You're distracting me."

"As long as you know Angela does not tell me what to do."

He expelled a long breath before looking down at his watch. Just one more hour to go. Zack put down the rib and folded his arms.

"Okay then. Prove it. You say you're the dominant force in your relationship. I don't think you are."

"Okay," Hodgins puffed his chest out with a smile, "I'll show you."

He turned expecting to do something clever and put Zack in his place, when he found himself walking into Angela herself. He had to look up.

"Angela? I-I was just going to see you."

She smiled, having heard nearly the whole thing.

"Zack, is he giving you a hard time?"

"A very hard time, Angela. Actually, he has an interesting theory. He seems to think-."

"Okay, enough Zack. I was just telling him I was sorry."

"Like I told you too?"

Hodgins lowered his chin a centimeter while Angela tapped her foot once so she wouldn't bust out laughing. Zack merely watched with curiosity. He knew Angela was somewhat annoyed, by her posture, but her face hinted at the laughter she was holding. Hodgins, while just a minute ago cocky and confident, had assumed the submissive role.

"You do know this is humiliating?"

"Of course it is. That's the whole point. But I'm sure your pride will survive. And if it doesn't, well, I do have pillows we can sew together."

* * *

"Bones, I asked you not to say anything."

"She asked me a question."

"No, she asked _me_ a question. You just butted your fat head in."

Brennan raised her eyebrow. "She asked _us_ a question and when you hesitated-."

"I did not hesitate. I _paused. _There's a difference."

"That's a complete lie! You hesitated and so I 'butted my fat head in' and just for the record, my head is not fat."

"What? No, no, no. I was waiting to make sure they understood what was happening. I mean, their daughter was just found in a grave."

"Exactly. They wanted to know how she died and so I told them."

"If I hadn't of stopped you, you would've given them one of the scariest images of their lives. I mean come on, do they really need to know their child's hands were crushed, her skull nearly caved in, upper body beat and broken, and her body decapitated. I don't think so."

She sat back. He might have a point. Might.

"I didn't tell them exactly that."

"Yeah? But you would've."

"I didn't know you were psychic."

"And I didn't know you were House."

"Why are you talking about a house?" she asked as she reached for her phone.

Booth sighed and rolled his eyes heavenward, praying for patience.

"He's a TV character. A complete smart ass sarcastic, misanthropic, doctor."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"You know what? Forget I said anything. Nothing gets into that fat head."

"Quit saying I have a fat head!"

He laughed and managed a glance at her irritated face as she tried to finger the small keypads. Angela was trying to get her more used to text messages.

"Did I hit a nerve? Does someone have insecurities of having a fat head?"

"If anyone has a fat head, it's you. Males generally have larger skulls, and because you are a male, yours is larger. Why, I have no idea considering you don't use it much."

"Ow, Bones! One of these days, you're going to hurt me."

"Quit talking about my fat head and I won't."

* * *

Zack walked into his place, aware of the quietness and feeling his heart beat just a little quicker. He laid down his bag by the door, made his way through the living room, down the hallway that would lead to his room. He didn't turn on any of the lights. He let his footsteps fall dully on the wooden floor until he came upon the closed door opposite of his open bedroom door.

With a shaking hand, he braced one hand against the door and let the other softly turn the knob. Walking in, he noticed his work space looked just as he'd left it. He flicked on the light, his eyes nearly cringing from the change of exposure.

"Dannie?" whispered as he took a few more steps forward.

"Zack?"

He turned around and saw her huddled in the corner that had hidden her from him because his back was to her. Her left shoulder was still in his makeshift sling, tied with an old sweater and some string. The bandages surrounding her other right arm were beginning to bleed through.

"Why didn't you stay in the bed?"

"I couldn't sleep. Thought I heard something."

"With your injuries, you should go to a hospital and see a doctor."

"I thought you were a doctor," she replied with the ghost of a smile.

"I meant a medical doctor. Unfortunately, my doctorate doesn't cover living people, just dead ones."

"Well, you did a pretty good job with me."

Zack shook his head, almost sighing because he was so frustrated at her. She never would just listen to him.

"Come on. You need to lie down and let me redo the bandages."

* * *

He threw the bandages in a trash bag and wondered how she had made it with his hands nearly shaking the whole time as he'd been wrapping the knife wounds. The sweater sling lay in his lap before he finally tossed them into the bag as well. Zack looked at the sleeping woman again. He'd gotten a real sling for her broken arm, which was at least one thing better. Her long hair was a mess of tangles and half out grown golden highlights. Even her face, usually olive complected, seemed as pale as the color of his white sheets.

Zack walked out, softly closing the door and making his way to sit on the sofa. He looked at the bag at his feet, wondering if what he was doing was right. Honestly, no. He should go to the police, take Dannie to the hospital, and be asleep in his own bed.

Instead, he turned on the television and watched a documentary on the Tuskegee Airman of World War II before falling asleep.

* * *

A/N: And I actually wrote this...finally...even if it's not good but I just needed to get it out before I absolutely let this story die. Anyways, just because I want to, I'm going to leave with something I find funny and I know everyone's heard, but it still cracks me up:

Chuck Norris _can_ divide by zero!


End file.
